The Madrid minnows with the big hearts

The Madrid minnows with the big hearts

The recent arrival of thousands of refugees in Europe xtmmo fifa has triggered a heartfelt response from the football world, with clubs and fans showing their solidarity by making donations, wearing shirts showing their support for the displaced, and observing minutes of silence before games.

“Football’s fifa 16 coins always been a sport that’s about solidarity,” Rayo Vallecano captain Roberto Trashorras told FIFA.com, echoing the prevailing mood. As a Rayo player, Trashorras is well placed to talk about the subject. Accustomed to living in the shadow of the two Madrid giants, Real and Atletico, the modest Rayo might lack silverware in their trophy cabinet, but there are few clubs that can beat them when it comes to expressing support for others and backing a good cause.

“Solidarity is our lifeblood,” said Rayo president Raul Martin Presa, the head of an institution that prides itself on being a club de barrio, a neighbourhood club, that remains inextricably linked with its roots, which in its case are in the working-class district of Vallecas. In forging and maintaining very close ties with the local community, Rayo is something of a rarity on the European professional football scene.